Six days after the first officer-involved shooting in Berkeley in eight years, the Berkeley Police Department has not released any new information about the incident which, it says, is still being investigated.
Berkeleyside has asked BPD for updates regularly since the incident happened Thursday night and has filed a public records act request for more information.
On July 30 at t 9:18 p.m. an officer was patrolling near CVS Pharmacy at 1451 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose Street) when she encountered an in-progress robbery involving three people: two men and a woman. While attempting to detain them, she fired her gun, according to a BPD statement. In the aftermath of the shooting, there was no evidence anyone struck by gunfire and nobody was detained or arrested.
In the Berkeley police radio traffic from the incident, a police officer said she fired “two rounds” and describes the suspects fleeing in a blue Ford Fusion.
The officer was transported to a local hospital for an injury to her foot, which happened during the encounter, and has since been discharged. The officer was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
On Tuesday, BPD Chief Andrew Greenwood told Berkeleyside there are multiple ongoing investigations into the incident and the department is “gathering evidence and speaking with those involved or witnessed the encounter.” “We do appreciate the public’s interest in this case, but also recognize that investigations such as this will take some time to complete,” he wrote by email. He said the department is working on the release to the community of a critical incident video, to comply with Assembly Bill 748.
The last shooting involving a Berkeley police officer took place in 2012 when police shot and wounded a man who opened fire on them from an apartment near Eighth and Delaware streets. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
